Chicago to New York

What the Data Says About ORD to LGA

The Chicago to New York corridor (ORD → LGA) covers roughly 733 miles and is served by 42 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 56,539 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.2% on-time rate with an average delay of 82.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 22,511 flights were recorded on this pairing — 524 cancelled (2.3%) and 116 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 42 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 56,539 total flights analyzed, the 78.2% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 82.5-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 88% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 60% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to LGA route, the combination of a 78.2% on-time rate, 82.5-minute average delay, 2.3% recent cancellation rate, and 42 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.